1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new chemical composition and the treating of textiles, e.g., fabrics, woven and nonwoven fibers, yarns, etc., as well as finished garments, therewith for purposes of imparting delayed cure, wrinkle resistance, finish, durable crease, stability, etc. to the treated material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous agents have been described in the art for such treatment of textiles or of garments manufactured therefrom. These garments are the so-called permanent press or durable press type. The usual treating procedure involves treating the textile with a thermosetting resin and then curing either the textile itself or the garment cut therefrom, usually by the application of heat.
Thermosetting resins described in the prior art are typified by formaldehyde condensation products of various types e.g., dimethylol isopropyl carbamate (SRRL -- U.S. Department of Agriculture); formaldehyde-hydroxylamine or hydrazine -- U.S. Pat. No. 2,161,808; formaldehyde condensed with dimethyl ether of dimethylol urea -- U.S. Pat. No. 2,825,710; condensation products of formaldehyde-dihydrazides of acidic and diglycolic acids -- U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,387; dimethylol ethylene urea and a polymeric acetal -- U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,584. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,432 there is described a process in which the resin is applied to the formed garment and the treated garment itself cured. Excellent work in the area of cotton research, carried out at the Southern Utilization Research and Development Division of the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, includes the development of chemicals for imparting durable crease and wrinkle resistance to cottons, and its annotated bibliographies represent very thorough compilations of the patent and literature art on this subject.
Various prior art patents have issued which are concerned with the preparation of aqueous resin compositions and the use of such compositions for imparting permanent press characteristics to fabrics and garments. Patents of this type of which applicant is aware include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,626,251; 2,657,132; 2,722,523; 2,829,126; 3,397,077 and 3,645,973. While a great many patents have issued in the art of imparting permanent press characteristics to garments and fabrics, the above-listed patents represent those which are most pertinent to the present invention. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,251 to James et al discloses the preparation of water soluble cationic resins comprising reacting urea and its homologues with an aldehyde and an amine including alkanolamines. Alternatively, an inorganic acid may be included in the reaction to reduce the pH values of such compositions. The resins described in this patent are said to be useful for textile applications where a high order of washability is desired. The other patents in this group contain similar disclosures.
The present invention is considered to provide an improvement over prior art disclosures of this type in the provision of novel aqueous compositions and their use in treating textiles, fabrics and garments to provide permanent press products which are characterized by improvements in finish, durability, fastness, crease resistance, and the like.